Saturday, January 2, 2010
7:33 PM
My First Real Stereo
The tape deck above is very similar to the one I added to my stereo system after I went to college.
As I wrote in an earlier post, I got my first record player when I was still in elementary school. I loved that thing more than I could possibly tell you. But by the time I got to jr. high, that record player was no longer working and so I depended upon the radio and my trusty cassette player (the cheap kind that people used for recording business meetings, etc. which were NOT meant to be used to make good recordings of music) My tape recorder got me through jr. high but by the time I reached 9th grade, I was fairly desperate to own my first real stereo. Reena had gotten one when we were in the 7th grade and it was awesome. We listened to it all of the time when I was over at her house and I really wanted one of my own. So that's the main gift I asked my mom to get me for Christmas of my 9th grade year. She said she would definitely get one for me so I could barely stand the wait in December. When Christmas Eve finally arrived, I spent the day downtown shopping and hanging out with my mom who had to work until 5:30 or so on that day. The clock moved unbearably slow that day and I was beside myself by 3:00 or so. I didn't mean to drive my mom crazy but looking back, I realize that I must have done so because I nagged her all afternoon in hopes that she would be able to get away from the store early that day. That didnt' happen though. There were customers in the store all the day up to closing time and in fact, we had to stay a little later because there was a customer in there who wouldn't take the hint and leave. That happened a lot in that store. People are so freaking rude. But as usual, I digress. : )
When my mom and I got home, I, of course, headed straight for the tree because I had waited as long as I could stand it and I wanted to get right to opening those gifts! However, my mom wanted me to wait a little longer because my Aunt Deen, etc. were in town and they were supposed to come over that evening. Now that I'm an adult, I understand that my sweet Mama just wanted her sister and her family to watch me open the gifts she had worked so hard to buy because she was most likely struggling to get used to the idea of she and I being the only ones around the tree on Christmas Eve. I was too young and selfish to understand that then so when I excitedly picked up a package and she yelled at me, I became enraged. I had been waiting since Thanksgiving to open all of my presents but especially that new stereo and being in front of the tree after dark on Christmas Eve, STILL not allowed to open them was just more than I had the maturity to handle. I acted like a complete and total spoiled brat. I'm too ashamed of myself to give you the details but suffice to say that I let my immature greed completely destroy the meaning of Christmas in that moment. It will haunt me for as long as I live. My sweet Mama worked SO hard to give me an amazing Christmas while dealing with the pain and fear of being a newly single mom. But in that moment, the only thing I noticed or cared about was myself and my own selfish wants. Ugh. It was definitely one of my ugliest life moments.
I don't know whether or not you even remember any of this, Mama, but if you do, please, please know that I am deeply, devastatingly sorry for being such a selfish brat then, and a thousand other times during my childhood. I love you with all of my heart and I owe you more than I could ever, ever hope to repay.
Moving on....
I DID finally get to open my gifts (and she let me start before Deen and her family arrived) and my beautiful, wonderful stereo that I didn't deserve was there. It was everything I had dreamed about and more. It was awesome! There was only one problem: The manufacturer had forgotten to put a needle into the box with the rest of the stereo parts, which meant that I STILL couldn't actually USE my stereo. AAAGGGHHH!!! That was probably partial punishment for my behavior? My mom called my uncle and told him of the problem but he, being the turd that he always was, told her that he supposedly didn't have one at his store and would have to order one, which would take several days. Are you getting that the universe was conpsiring against me on this stereo deal? lol Fortunately though, I saw my dad the next day and he, realizing that my uncle was just being a douche bag, called his brother and told him to meet us over at the store because he was going to be needing a stereo needle that day. LOL Go Dad. My uncle didn't mind jerking my mom and I around but he wasn't stupid enough to jerk my dad around. He knew that my dad knew he was lying about the needle so he didn't even argue. He just met us over there and gave me the needle. Funny how one magically appeared in his store when my dad got involved, huh? lol
I'd love to tell you that my Dad drove me over to our house, went in with me, and installed the needle onto my stereo. But that would have made much too much sense fot eh chaotic dysfunction that was our family. Instead, he gave the needle to me and assured me that I'd be able to install it myself. By the time I got home and figured out he was wrong, he was already on his way back to Lawton so I STILL couldn't play my records on my stereo!!!
Cosmic conspiracy, I tell you. I almost spontaneously combusted.
Finally, on the day after Christmas, my cousin, Kay, and her husband showed up for an unexpected holiday visit. By this time, I was desperate. I didn't even know her husband very well yet and asking favors of people I didn't know well was not something I was known for. I just didn't feel comfortable in doing that. We were taught not to ask for things from people outside of our family so I just didn't hardly EVER ask favors of anyone. But that day, I was desperate and on the verge of complete, mental breakdown from a month of waiting for my beloved stereo. So, I pounced on Karry as soon as he got through the door. I figured a young college-aged guy must surely know how to install a needle on a stereo and thankfully, I was correct. Karry, who was an extremely nice guy, happily agreed to help me out. He squeezed his way into my tiny bedroom, in between my bed and my new stereo, quickly surveyed the situation, and popped that needle into place in nothing flat. I FINALLY HAD A WORKING STEREO!!!! I was officially the happiest kid in the free world. lol
That stereo served me more than well. Four years later, I took it to college with me. It was still working beautifully in 1985 when I stored it and some of my other valuables at my dad's hosue in Lawton while I transitioned between schools. Unfortunately, things of value had a way of disappearing when left in my dad's care and such proved to be the case with my much-loved stereo. I never saw it again after that. (OR my HUGE record collection which would be worth a lot of money today) Technology has moved on and I now use a handy little mp3 player to play all of my music. Those big, multi-component stereo's are no longer in use. Vinyl records are a thing of the past, as are 8-track tapes, and cassettes. But I still get a warm feeling when I think about my first "adult" stereo and wish I had had a place to preserve it so that I could have it with me today. The older I get, the more I realize the sacrifices my Mama made to give me things like that and that makes the things AND the memories priceless to me.
*Note: The original stereo came with built-in turntable, 8-track player, and AM/FM radio. Later, during my second year of college, I purchased a cassette deck that I plugged into the stereo which I thought to be the coolest, most high-tech thing ever. I paid $200 just for that cassette deck. It took me a lot of college work study hours and a little leftover college grant money to afford it but it was worth everything I had to do to get it. Cassette technology rocked my world. Given how outdated cassettes are now, I can't help but get tickled thinking about how proud I was to own it back in 1981, when the world was young.
Me, sweet, precious, Dawn (my niece), and over there next to the window, my STEREO!!!! Notice it was in operation when this pic was taken. My stereo was almost ALWAYS in operation. : )